ID Scanning Software for Smart Devices

ID scanning software is a set of libraries and resources developers use to enable applications to capture and process information encoded onto physical identity documents. This information is used to determine the contents of the ID, whether the ID is real, and whether the holder of the ID is the actual owner of the ID.

Scandit’s ID scanning software combines text recognition (or optical character recognition/OCR), barcode scanning, and image recognition to analyze identity documents instantly. It runs on any smart device with a camera, including smartphones, tablets, and handheld computers.

ID Bolt gives website visitors fast, self-serve ID scanning using a pre-built component maintained by Scandit.The Scandit Data Capture SDK allows developers to build bespoke ID data capture and fake ID detection solutions for Native, Web, and cross-platform frameworks.

ID scanning improves customer service by reducing the time it takes to verify identity documents, reducing errors arising from manual checks, and lowering the risk of fraudulent IDs. 

For example, ID scanning can streamline age verification checks by delivery drivers so customers receive their items faster. Similarly, it can reduce wait times at airport check-ins and improve passenger satisfaction.

Scandit goes further with ID Bolt, a pre-built software component that allows developers to add self-serve ID scanning to any website. ID Bolt streamlines customer workflows by capturing relevant ID information before service delivery, allowing passengers to check in from home or shoppers to pre-verify their age before delivery of age-restricted goods.

ID scanning software helps detect and act upon criminals attempting fraudulent activities while verifying customer identity documents. Fraud detection generally involves the determination of three things:

1. What is on the ID?

2. Whether the ID is real or not?

3. Is the holder of the ID the actual owner of the ID?

ID scanning software has become critical to the accuracy of verification checks as modern fakes are difficult to detect with the naked eye. Through software techniques, these solutions perform much better than humans and can automatically record audit trails to support compliance requirements.

Scandit’s portfolio of ID scanning solutions uses advanced computer vision to check hundreds of characteristics of an ID document and display results in just one second. This instant detection enables frontline workers to detect fakes with minimal customer delay, even during high-volume periods.

ID scanners read information on identity documents, either through magnetic encoding or image processing, and evaluate various components to determine validity and authenticity.

These components can include first name, last name, street address, date of birth, hair color, height, date of issue, date of expiration, and ID number. 

Effective ID scanning requires sophisticated software designed to address the complexities of modern identity document verification. With thousands of document types worldwide and increasing pressure to reduce customer wait times, ID scanning software such as Scandit’s offers fast, accurate identity checks using the smart devices users are already familiar with.

ID scanners capture and transform printed information on identity documents into digital formats for further processing. These documents can contain one or more of the following components:

• Visual Inspection Zones (VIZ): The part of an ID that contains printed personal details, such as a name or date of birth.

• Machine Readable Zones (MRZ): Strings of letters, numbers, and symbols that encode personal details on the ID with fraud detection numbers (or a checksum) in a standardized format.

• PDF417 barcodes: Encode personal details on the ID to support rapid scanning.

Scandit ID scanning software supports over 2,500 documents worldwide, including older versions of IDs, with accuracy rates greater than 95%.

To detect a fake ID, you will need to use  specialist ID scanning software. Typically, this takes an image of the ID and then uses computer vision (usually powered by AI) to analyze many different characteristics to determine if the ID is a likely fake.

ID scanning software can easily be integrated into websites and mobile apps. Deciding how much time you can afford to spend detecting fake IDs is key to selecting the right software for your business and use case. 

A bank may be able to afford to take minutes or even hours to analyze an ID when a customer is opening an account. However, retail and last-mile delivery companies selling age-restricted goods will need much faster scanning times to maintain operational efficiency. 

Building on the experience of tens of millions of scans and extensive UX research, Scandit ID scanning software can detect fake IDs in just 1 second, and works on any smartphone. The Data Capture SDK gives developers a fully customizable set of libraries to build ID scanning and fake ID detection workflows into Web and Native applications.

You can use the Scandit SDK Showcase app to test scan over 2500 ID cards, passports and drivers’ licenses. 

If you want to scan ID cards for commercial use, you will need to integrate specialist ID scanning software into your website or app. As you are scanning Personally Identifiable Information (PII), it’s important to consider information security requirements. 

With Scandit ID Bolt, you can add ID scanning to any website, fast. It takes just one hour to get ID Bolt into your staging environment and ready for testing. 

The Scandit Data Capture SDK for ID scanning allows you to add ID Scanning to any native or web app.  

All Scandit ID scanning products (including our demo app) are designed to process all data on-device and encrypt all transmitted data, Scandit software complies with applicable data privacy laws and business regulations, including GDPR and CCPA.

Yes, smartphone ID scanning is a popular way of capturing and processing identity document information and detecting fake IDs. Smartphones are ideal for these activities as users are familiar with their operation, their ergonomics reduce fatigue, and they are cost-effective for businesses – especially in consumer-facing workflows or Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) environments.

Deploying ID scanning on smartphones requires software libraries that developers can integrate into their existing apps, or build new ones. The Scandit Data Capture SDK gives developers a fully customizable set of libraries to build ID scanning and fake ID detection workflows into web and native applications.

Scandit’s ID Bolt allows developers to deploy pre-built ID scanning into any website in minutes, much like Apple Pay does for payments. These pre-built components handle all scanning workflows and UI components, supporting any modern web browser.

ID scanning software is typically offered as a set of libraries developers include and build into their applications. Depending on the provider, these libraries provide customization options through API calls and require testing to ensure the implementation meets users’ needs.

Scandit’s ID scanning solutions come in two flavors:

• ID Bolt to quickly deploy pre-built ID scanning into any website to capture customer information before service delivery (e.g., an airline allowing passengers to scan their passports at home).

• The Data Capture SDK has fully customizable features and UI components, allowing developers to build the best scanning experience for their users.

For more information on installing and configuring Scandit software, read our developer documentation.

There are five criteria to consider when selecting the right ID scanner software for your organization:

1. Accuracy: To minimize business risks, the ID scanner must support an accuracy greater than 95%, with 100% accuracy for date of birth and document number.

2. Speed: ID scanners must scan and display results in less than one second to minimize disruption to business processes and customer experience. Any longer risks frustration and employee adoption issues.

3. Connectivity: With the potential for unreliable internet connections – such as large stores with patchy Wi-Fi and remote delivery outside coverage areas – ID scanners must support offline operation with no degradation in speed or accuracy.

4. Security: ID scanners must ensure high confidence that they follow secure data practices and comply with the applicable data privacy laws.

5. Integration: ID scanning software must support your existing technology stack and device fleet and offer rapidly deployable software components to reduce development effort and release timelines.